A couple of artists in this year’s show shared how art has made a difference in their life and their multiple sclerosis:

Darren Baker and his daughter, Sarah, have entered the show every year. Darren is a former electrical engineer who found art after his diagnosis in the late 90s. Art has taught both of them powerful lessons about what perfection really looks like.

He and his wife, Amy, and their daughter, Sarah, shared their experiences and talked about their involvement in the Swedish MS Center Art Show. Watch their moving story in the video below. The entire family displayed their art this year.

Sheila Stotland has been an artist of many mediums. MS has limited her mobility and independence, but art is an outlet. Sheila paints and sculpts by directing the hands of her friends. For her, art is a way to experience a tremendous amount of freedom.

Multiple sclerosis affects more than 12,000 people in Washington state and their loved ones, and about 400,000 in the United States. Unlike other chronic, degenerative diseases, MS typically strikes in the prime of a person’s life around ages 20-40 without a known cause.

More than 100 art pieces by dozens of artists who have been touched by multiple sclerosis (MS) contributed to the display.

The annual art show, now in its fourth year, brings together people of all artistic abilities who have a connection to MS—diagnosed, family members, caregivers and friends—to raise awareness about the disease and the ability to achieve well-being with MS.

The show is sponsored by Swedish MS Center staff and the Seattle Center as a Seattle Center Community Created Event.

While there is no cure for multiple sclerosis, researchers are making great strides toward finding the cause and new treatments for multiple sclerosis symptoms. The MS Center at Swedish has more than 25 ongoing research studies and clinical trials, which allows the treatment team to offer patients the most promising new therapies as well as the latest in diagnostic testing and symptom man¬agement.